


Dipped in Chocolate

by willowandfog



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Chocolate, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Mystery, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29478099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowandfog/pseuds/willowandfog
Summary: Draco receives a mysterious box of chocolate that leads him on an short adventure, where a witch is waiting at the end to spend Valentine's Day evening with him.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	Dipped in Chocolate

A quiet knock sounded into the silence of Draco’s office followed by a soft feminine voice. “Mr. Malfoy?” 

“Come in, Naomi.” He paused from his writing to peak up over his spectacles as the door cracked open. 

“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Malfoy. But an owl just arrived with this package for you. There’s no missive, I’m not sure who it’s from.” His assistant stood hesitantly in the doorway, a small brown wrapped package in her grasp. 

“That’s ok, Naomi. Just bring it in.” He set his quill down and held out his hand. He frowned at the package as she released it over to him. Looking up at her he studied her for the first time all day, she looked a little more dressed up than usual, a lovely lace red dress coming to rest just above her knees. Short black heels adorned her feet. Her fiery red hair pinned up in a delicate chignon. He gave her a small smile. “Why don’t you take off for the day. I’m sure you have plans tonight.”

“Thank you!” A huge grin broke out on her face. She made it back to the doorway before she spun back to face him. “Oh! I’ll be right back, I brought something for you.” She dashed out the door. She returned and set a small Honeydukes bag on the edge of his desk. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Mr. Malfoy.”

He gave her another smile. “Thank you, Naomi. Have fun tonight, I’ll see you on Monday.”

She gave him a final wave as she exited his office, closing the door softly behind her.

Draco took off his glasses, setting them down on the desk before studying the package. The outside gave no clues as to the contents inside. Picking up his wand he cast a few spells, checking for traps and curses. Nothing. He cautiously peeled back the wrapping, pulling out the thin rectangular box. He gave the box a sceptical look before lifting the lid. 

Two perfect squares of chocolate sat inside the box. Lovely squares of shiny chocolate, one with gold flecks on the surface, the other with a perfect fresh raspberry elegantly placed on top. The inside of the lid contained the elusive missive. With a raised brow, Draco put his glasses back on and leaned back to read the note. 

_ Draco, _

_ I don’t expect that you should be surprised that you would receive a gift on Valentine’s Day, but I do hope to surprise you before this day is over. These chocolates are not normal chocolates however, they are quite special. Each contains half of a potion. I know that by now you will have sent your assistant home, if not for having noticed her outfit and realizing she had plans, then for the fact that you’ve received a mysterious package and would not risk opening an unknown package with her in the vicinity. You are an admirable man, whether you chose to see yourself that way or not, I know that you are. So here is my proposition for you, eat both of these chocolates. You will be shown a vision of a destination. Go there, there will be someone waiting for you, they will give you the next step. Follow the clues and guidance I have set up for you and they will lead you to me. _

_ You may choose not to follow this quest, as a Slytherin I can imagine that your need for self preservation far outweighs your need to solve this mystery and take the plunge to follow an unknown path to an unknown end. To help ease this, I will tell you that I am no stranger. You and I know each other, we see each other often enough. Good luck, I hope that you will take this journey and that I will see you at the end.  _

_ XX _

Draco sat back with a scowl, being subtly called a coward was almost enough to make him throw the box into the bin. The need to know who this person that he supposedly knew was enough to make him pick up the first chocolate. He studied it carefully, then took a sniff of it before popping it into his mouth. A small moan escaped him as the rich, velvety truffle-like chocolate hit his tongue. His sweet tooth screamed at him to grab the other square, but he resisted, setting the box to the side to finish working on the form he had been filling out. 

When the thought occurred to him that he had no idea how long before the effects of the first half of the potion would start fading, he grabbed the other chocolate and bit into it. The burst of the tart raspberry paired perfectly with the gooey sweet milk chocolate filling inside. Swallowing, enjoying the lingering sweetness on his tongue, he sat back into his chair. 

He didn’t have to wait long before images were flashing across his vision. Images of a place he immediately recognized and knew all too well. With a smirk, he rose from his chair, carefully tucking the missive into his pocket before heading for his cloak. Cloak on, wand tucked into his pocket, he apparated. 

Head tucked down against the wind, Draco walked the block away from the apparation point and into the cozy Leaky Tavern. Which was packed full of people, couples and singles alike, all out for a Valentine’s Day drink. Looking around hesitantly, unsure of who was supposed to be waiting for him, he made a beeline for the bar, figuring he would be easy to spot there. He was surprised to find an empty stool, settling himself into it, he motioned the bartender, who pointedly ignored him. Draco gave the man a scowl before the bartender purposefully moved to the other end of the bar, avoiding his gaze. With a huff of annoyance Draco glanced around before Theo sidled up to the bar beside him, a tumbler with a finger of firewhiskey in one hand. 

With a mischievous grin on his face, Theo set the tumbler on the bar in front of Draco. “Some liquid courage, my man.”

Draco gave him a scowl, before taking the tumbler and tossing the contents back. “You’re in on this? You know who it is?”

Theo chuckled, his emerald eyes gleaming. “I’m your best mate, of course I know. No, I won’t tell you. But trust me when I say, you will not be disappointed.” With a firm pat on the back, Theo turned and disappeared into the crowd. 

Draco watched him go, considering chasing him down and getting answers from him. But when he turned back to the bar, the empty glass was gone and in its place was an envelope. With a quirk of his brow, Draco picked up the envelope, glancing around again before opening it up. Inside was a subway pass, with a note,  _ Train 115, leaving in 10 minutes. Go. _

Draco jumped from his stool and dashed for the door. He was almost running to the apparation point and managed to remember that he was apparating into a muggle area a moment before he left. Appearing in an alley somewhere he knew there was a subway nearby. He jogged to the area, stopping an elderly lady to ask her where he could find the 115 train. He was luckily nearby where he needed to go, thanking the lady, he ran. At the bottom of the stairs, he paused to look at the signs and watch the muggles scan their cards to get through the turnstiles. Following suit, Draco made his way through. Shocked, he found himself on the correct platform just as the train pulled in. Shuffling his way onto the train with the rest of the passengers, he found a seat. 

_ Muggle transportation, huh? Most likely not a pureblood witch then.  _ He let out a relieved sigh.  _ Good. _

When the train came to a stop, some of the passengers began flooding out of the car but some remained. With no instruction to guide him and not knowing whether to join the group leaving or stay with the remaining people, Draco stood and shuffled out. Looking around he spotted a familiar face near the stairs leading up to the street. With a smirk and a shake of his head he made his way to the tall, dark skinned man. 

“Wasn’t sure if you were gonna make it.” The deep voice of Blaise commented at Draco’s approach.

“Looks like all my friends are in on this. This some stupid prank of Theo’s?” With a chuckle and a shake of his head, Blaise led the way up the steps. “Who’s the mystery witch then?”

“Not going to get those kinds of answers from me, mate. Let’s just say it’s a witch that knew your Slytherin ways would be put more at ease knowing that your friends are here to help guide you in the right direction.” Blaise gave Draco a sidelong glance. “And so you’d know that you have all of our support in the end.”

Draco’s head snapped in Blaise’s direction, brows drawn together. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

With a shrug, they reached the top, and Blaise turned to lead him down a busy street. The bustling muggle shopping area was packed with people. Some carrying packages and gifts, a few couples just strolling arm in arm. They continued in silence, coming up on a small market set up on a side street, Blaise led him past the pop tents, most vendors peddling sweets and flowers for the holiday. 

Draco thought he spotted a familiar head of curls in the crowd that was passing by; he turned his head to look through the group, trying to find them again. His observation was interrupted by a small force barreling into him. Draco whipped his head around in time to watch an armful of fluffy objects fly into the air and a small squeak of surprise to reach his ears as a little girl with long blonde hair tumbled to the ground. 

Scrambling up, the girl began picking up what Draco now saw was stuffed animals. He knelt, helping the girl to pick up her soft prizes. 

“Sorry.” She said softly. “Hard to see where I was going while carrying all these.” 

He rose. “No problem. Just be more careful. Wouldn’t want you getting hurt. Are all of these yours?” He questioned as he handed her the last one.

“Yeah, there’s a small game tent down there at the end.” She pointed in a direction behind her. “I spent all my allowance winning these! I’m a collector!” She beamed proudly at him. “Thanks for your help, mister. Sorry again for not watching where I was going.” The little girl looked through her pile, before plucking one of the objects out. “Here, I want you to have one.” With a smile she thrust it into his hands then took off through the crowd. “Bye!” 

When the girl was out of sight, Draco turned his attention to the object in his hands, he almost shook his head at the small stuffed green dragon with gold sparkly wings in his hands. With a raised brow he looked to Blaise and held up the dragon. 

“Not a coincidence I take it?”

Blaise shrugged. “All I know is where to lead you and leave you. Come on.” He continued past the tents and into a dimly lit alley. At the end an elderly man with round spectacles sat on a stool next to a steel door. He hobbled to his feet as Blaise and Draco came closer. 

“Ah. Mr. Malfoy, finally arrived I see.” The old man croaked before holding out a wrinkly hand. “I require payment for you to go forward.”

“Seriously?” Draco drawled looking at Blaise. “Some witch just looking to get some of my galleons then?”

One corner of Blaise’s lips twitched up as Draco drew a small bag of coins from his pocket to hand over to the man. The old man flinched his hand back before Draco could set the sack in it. 

“I don’t want money.”

Draco dropped his arm, confused. “Then what is the payment?”

“I’m sorry to say that it’ll be a bit more costly than your galleons, in which you have abundance. Something that was given to you by another will do.”

Draco hesitated, his hand going to rest on the small dragon tucked into his pocket, it becoming clear as to why the little girl’s run in had been orchestrated. But the thought of handing it over made his stomach turn, even if it had been planned and set up by the mystery witch, it was still the only gift given to him by someone who just saw him as a man, not an ex Death Eater monster. Pulling his empty hand from his pocket, he began removing his cufflinks. He set them into the old man’s palm and met his gaze.

“These were a gift from my mother.”

Blaise grabbed his shoulder. “Draco, man. Just give him the dragon.”

“No. I want to keep that. I have lots of cufflinks, it’s fine.”

Blaise frowned at him. “Well I’ve led you to your door, I have my own date waiting on me. Good luck in there, let me know how all this goes.” He apparated away. 

The door beside the old man swung open, and the man waved his hand towards it. “Just be warned, you will not be able to leave through this door, you will have to go through the other inside.” 

Draco nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets and entering the dark room beyond the door. The door snapped shut with a loud thunk behind him, leaving him standing in darkness. A few intense moments passed before overhead lights began to flicker on. The room was mostly barren, with a small table and chair in the center of the concrete floor, and a small bookshelf with a dozen books resting near one of the white walls. 

Turning back to the door he came through, Draco tried to pull it open, with no luck he pulled out his wand and tried using a spell to open the door. With no luck he tried several more, even tried blasting the door, nothing happened. With no choice he turned to the other door, it too would not yield, to brute strength nor spell. 

With a sigh Draco studied the room, with eyes drawn back to the shelf, he approached it, glancing over the titles. None popped out at him as particularly interesting but palmed one anyways. Flipping through the pages, he noticed a few highlighted passages, but closed it and set it back on the shelf. He turned to observe the room again, studying the walls and ceiling, half expecting someone else to come into the room, there had always been someone to guide him thus far. He picked up another book and casually looked through, pausing when he noticed that like the other book, this book also had some highlighted passages. Taking the time to read through the passages, Draco’s drawn brows slowly began to move up in surprise. 

He grabbed the other book he had picked up from the shelf and took both to the table and sat down in the chair. Flipping the other book open he read through the highlighted passages. He wandlessly levitated over the rest of the books from the shelf while he was reading. He poured through all the books, finding each one contained highlights. The more he read, the more understanding began to set in. 

“Bloody…” He whispered, looking around the room again. “Wish I had some-”

He cut off when a stack of parchment and a self-inking quill appeared on the edge of the table. “Well… I’m either being watched or there’s some very intuitive magic in here.” He glanced around the room again before picking up a sheet of parchment and the quill. 

Carefully reading through each passage and taking notes, Draco had no idea how much time had passed before he felt like he had figured everything out. Setting the quill down, he dropped his head into one hand and shook his head. He felt the grin spread over his face as he chuckled. “Bloody brilliant. This witch is bloody brilliant.” The pages had cleverly shown him how to cast a new spell when pieced together correctly. 

As he stood from the table, he pulled his wand from his pocket. He practiced the movements of the spell for ten minutes before he felt comfortable that he had it down. Turning to the door, he went through the motions again, murmuring the incantation alongside it. Draco held his breath for a long moment before there was a loud, echoing click from the door. With a cocky smile, he yanked the door open. Pocketing his wand, he stepped through, into another large white room, a large red partition screen the only object inside. Frowning, he went to inspect the screen. 

When he circled around to the backside, he heard the door click shut. Stepping around to peak out at the door. Pansy stood there, wearing a tight navy blue dress, the plunge of the neckline exposing the tops of her breasts and the sharp points of tall heels stuck out from under the fabric. Her black hair was in a straight, smooth bob, and a spiked gold necklace adorned her neck. 

“Pansy?” His disappointment filled him and his heart sank. “You’re the mystery witch?”

“Were you expecting someone else?” She questioned, raising one groomed brow at him. 

“No offense, Pans. But I was hoping for someone else.”

With a burst of laughter she snapped her fingers, a long garment bag appeared in one of her hands, a pair of dragonhide shoes in the other. “Put these on.” She held the items out to him. 

With a grimace he stood his ground. “Sorry, Pans. I don’t think this is such a good idea.”

Pansy rolled her eyes at him, closing the distance between them, she thrust the items into his arms. “I’m not your mystery witch, you dolt.” With her now free hands, she gestured to herself. “All of this sexy goodness is for Blaise. I have to meet him for our date after I’m done with you.”

Hope returning, Draco stepped behind the screen and began to change. Unzipping the bag, he looked over the tux inside, he brushed his hand along the front of it. “Muggle attire?” He questioned out loud. “This is nice, who made it?” He asked Pansy as he started stripping down. 

With a snort, Pansy replied. “Your tailor of course. Nothing but the best for Draco Malfoy.”

Draco poked his head around the screen to look at her. “This witch went to my tailor and asked him to make me a  _ muggle  _ tux?”

“Ballsy right? Apparently the witch can get almost anyone to do anything.” She shrugged one shoulder and continued studying her nails. “Stop staring at me and hurry up, you’re not the only one with a date waiting.”

Quickly dawning the suit and then slipping into the shoes, he shrank the dragon and tucked it into his pocket alongside his wand. Coming around the screen with a raised brow, he looked to Pansy. “Missing a few things isn’t it?”

With a nod Pansy drew her wand. A bowtie appeared around Draco’s neck, she leaned forward to straighten it out. Taking a step back she studied him, moving her head from side to side she waved her wand again, replacing the bowtie with a slim black tie. 

“Yup, tie it is.” She moved up to tighten the tie. Waving her wand once again, a small box appeared in her hand. “Your witch thought you might also need these.” She handed the box over to him. 

Confused, Draco lifted the lid to the box, inside resting on a pillow of velvet were two matching platinum cufflinks, engraved with his initials. “But…” He looked up at Pansy. “I was wearing cufflinks, how could she have possibly known that I would need...” Realization dawned that this witch knew him better than he would have thought. 

“Have you figured out who she is yet?”

“I don’t know for sure. But I sure as hell hope it’s who I think it is.” He commented as he pinned the cufflinks into place.

With a smirk Pansy handed him a small envelope. “Here’s an address, just in case you haven’t figured it out. Now I’m off to see a man about a date.” She vanished. 

Left to study the envelope, Draco considered opening it, just to be sure. Suddenly knowing that even if he was wrong, he would forget this mystery witch and go to the door of the witch he wanted to spend the evening with. No matter if the mystery witch was her or not, Draco Malfoy was going to spend Valentine's evening with Hermione Granger. He tucked the unopened envelope into a pocket and apparated away. 

He walked the couple blocks of the muggle neighborhood in contemplation. Many of the signs pointed to the witch being Granger, the muggle transport, enlisting the help of his friends, the damn riddle of a spell, the subtle hints of things that showed how well the witch knew him. He sighed, hoping he was right but also hoping if he wasn’t that Granger would be willing to spend the evening with him. Or… Merlin forbid that she wasn’t already out on a date. 

Draco stood across the street observing the tall apartment building. Tucking his hands in his pockets to hide their tremble, he strode across the street and approached the entrance. As he neared the doorman swung the door open for him. 

“Mr. Malfoy, good to see you.”

Draco stopped giving the man a questioning look. He had never been to Granger’s apartment before and nor had he ever seen this man. “You know me?”

The man gave a light bob of his head. “I was told to expect you, follow me please.”

The shorter balding doorman led Draco across the modest entry to the elevators. With a press of the button, the doors swung open. The man gestured for Draco to enter, when he did the man held the doors open but leaned in to press a button, the floor lighting up after a swipe of a keycard across a panel inside. The doorman stepped back, letting the doors slide closed, a knowing smile on his face. 

Draco stood nervously still in the elevator, eyes glued to the floor numbers increasing, sweaty palms still stuck firmly in his pockets. When the seemingly endless elevator ride finally came to a halt with a loud ding, the doors parted to reveal the roof. Stepping out and allowing the doors to close behind him, Draco took in everything around him. There were strings of lights strung across overhead and lining the roof’s edge, giving the area a soft glow. There were several comfortable seating areas throughout the space but in the center of all of it, separate from the rest, was a small round table. An intimate setting with a chair on either side and candles, two gleaming silver plate covers, and an empty champagne flute resting atop. 

But what drew Draco’s full attention was the witch leaning with arms crossed resting against the edge of the roof’s wall, a half full champagne glass rising to her delicately painted lips for a small sip. Setting her glass down on the edge, she slowly turned to face him. Hermione wore a vibrant emerald green satin dress with a thin strapped V neckline. A wide band fitting around her midriff leading to the wrap style flowy skirt which contained a large slit revealing her smooth legs made longer by her tall black suede Jimmy Choo’s. While her barely there makeup was soft, it was obvious she had tried to tame her curls into delicate waves that flowed freely down across her shoulders, but it was slowly becoming more wild every moment that passed by. 

“Draco.” Her breathy whisper drawing his feet into motion, taking long strides to reach her side. Her eyes roamed over his face, taking in every detail, studying him for some reaction. She cleared her throat and glanced away when he didn’t speak. “I hope this isn’t too disappointing for you.”

With a frown Draco withdrew the unopened envelope from his pocket and set it beside her champagne glass. “I thought it might be you, and I hoped it would be. I didn’t open this because I was determined to come here to spend the evening with you whether you were the mystery witch or not.” 

She looked at the envelope for a long moment before turning her eyes back to his. “I’ve been waiting.” She whispered.

Draco knew the depth of her words went far beyond talking about tonight. “I know.” He took her elbows in his hands, pulling her a little closer. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t here sooner.” He spoke softly. “And I’m definitely not going anywhere now.” 

Pulling her so she was flush against him, he wrapped an arm around her waist, the other gently stroking her cheek with his knuckles. He cupped her cheek momentarily before sliding his hand around into the tangle of curls at the nape of her neck and pulling her in, his lips tenderly pressing against hers. 

When she grabbed his lapels to hold him close, he pressed his lips more firmly against hers, deepening the kiss with a graze of his tongue against the seam of her lips. When she opened up for him, he tried to convey everything he had been feeling towards her over the past year, hoping she would understand.

Hermione pulled back with a shuddering breath, earning a smirk from Draco. He pulled something from his pocket and took her hand to rest the object in her palm. With a wandless wave of his hand, he enlarged the stuffed dragon. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Granger.”

  
  
  
  



End file.
